The Hillsdale Parks Group met on Oct 22nd to discuss parks priorities for Hillsdale. The Red Electric Trail was the top priority for the group. This is the report from their efforts.

Please attend your neighborhood association meeting to tell them of your support. If you live in Hillsdale, attend tonights meeting 11/6 at St Barnabus 2201 SW Vermont at 7pm.

Red Electric Trail. We have an approved master plan for the Red Electricand a bridge is scheduled to be designed this winter to span over Fanno Creek just north of where SW Nebraska intersects Capitol Highway at the west
end of the Hillsdale Commercial area. This is a regional facility and will connect with the Fanno Creek Trail on the west and the Willamette Greenway to the east where the new Hooley/Gibbs Pedestrian bridge was built. We discussed needs both to the west in the Hayhurst neighborhood as well as the need to get the project moving on the east end of Hillsdale near Barbur and in the South Portland Neighborhood to connect to the old Slavin Road alignment. There will be a pedestrian connection back to Barbur at 4900 SW Barbur (Rasmussen Apartments) This will allow bicycles and pedestrians to avoid walking along Barbur in the bike path if they choose to do so. We agreed to request $150,000 or the appropriate amount to accomplish the goals to fund staff to determine a final alignment from the east side of Himes Park to and under Barbur at the south end of the Newbury structure, the loop up onto the bridge and thence onto the old Slavin Road (the old name for Capitol Hwy in this area) and connect to the existing city owned Slavin Road. Funds will also be used to gain permits to build a pedestrian trail that we can use until funds to build the bicycle trail are obtained. Some funds will also be used to identify and work out the details of developing a pedestrian trail in the western end of the trail. Funds to buy right of way for the trail are available from a Metro bond measure.

The next step will be to lobby our respective neighborhoods to get the Red Electric considered for funding from the 2014 Parks SDC allocation. Please attend your neighborhood association meeting to tell them of your support. If you live in Hillsdale, attend tonights meeting 11/6 at St Barnabus 2201 SW Vermont at 7pm.